Johnny Depp may be one of the most desirable men in Hollywood, but he looks far from handsome in his latest film role.

In place of his light golden tan and dark brown hair, Depp is unrecognisable with his curly orange hair, pasty skin and pink make-up as she plays the ghoulish-looking Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's upcoming adaptation of Alice In Wonderland.

Relative unknown Mia Wasikowska, 19, from Australia, will be playing Alice, who is much older in the film than in CS Carroll's classic.

Seventeen-year-old Alice struggles to fit into Victorian society and is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of people at a garden party.

She flees the party and spots the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) and follows him down a hole and into Wonderland.

While film fans will have to wait until March 2010 to see the film, Disney have given them a taste of things to come with the first official glimpse of the cast in their garish costumes.

The look of the film is typical Burton style with Victorian styling and extreme colour contrasts.

As well as being transformed by their costumes, the cast's features have been digitally altered, making them look far removed from their normal selves.

As the tea-drinking, unbirthday-celebrating Mad Hatter, Johnny's eyes are yellow and enlarged.

Producer Richard Zanuck said: 'This character is off his rocker. He is so much fun and so nutty, I can't imagine anyone else doing it.'

The film also stars Burton's muse and real-life partner Bonham Carter, whose head has been digitally swelled to play the Red Queen.

Dressed in full royal regalia, Bonham Carter's body is dwarfed by her bulbous head, a physical reflection of the Queen's enormous ego.

The Red Queen has overthrown her sister, the White Queen (Hathaway) and has turned Wonderland from a peaceful kingdom to a land of paranoia and fear.

Zanuck explained: 'The creatures are ready to revolt and waiting for Alice to help them.'

Normally a brunette, Hathaway looks ethereal with her platinum blonde hair and alabaster skin as she plays the exiled Queen.

Explaining his casting of newcomer Wasikowska as Alice, Burton said: 'We met a lot of people, but she just had that certain kind of emotional toughness, standing her ground in a way that makes her kind of an older person with a younger person?s mentality.'

The film also stars Christopher Lee as the Jabberwock, Rickman as the Caterpiller, Fry as the Cheshire Cat and Back To The Future actor Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts.

• Alice in Wonderland will be released in both traditional and 3-D format on March 12 2010.